How To Teach Your Brain Something It Won’t Forget A Week Later

How To Teach Your Brain Something It Won’t Forget A Week Later

By MARY SLAUGHTER

Of all the things you learned in school, chances are the right way to learn wasn’t one of them.

To make it through academic life, most of us opt for what psychologists call “massed practice,” better known as cramming: It’s Monday and your test is Friday, so you save studying for the night before. One four-hour session can nab you a passing grade, so why not?

Well, because that’s not how your brain likes to absorb information. You might remember enough to pass your exam the next day, but just a week or two later and the details will already be fuzzy, if not gone completely. Here’s how to do better.

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